"Slept for 4 hours" - Karolina Pliskova's husband Michal blasts WTA's "challenging" scheduling as she plays Qatar Open hours after winning in Romania

Karolina Pliskova’s husband Michal Hrdlicka recently criticized the demanding scheduling of the WTA tour as the former World No. 1 barely made it to her Qatar Open match after intercontinental travel.

Pliskova recently competed at the Winners Open in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. On Sunday, February 11, the Czech defeated home favorite Ana Bogdan 6-4, 6-3 in the final to lift her 17th career title, and her first in four years.

The WTA schedule, however, meant that the two-time Grand Slam finalist had to ditch her victory celebration as she faced a race against the clock to reach her next tournament – the WTA 1000 Qatar Open [February 11-17]. Pliskova’s first-round match was scheduled for Monday — the second day of the event.

Despite barely reaching the venue, with little time for recovery, Pliskova contested and won her opener with a 2-6, 7-6(3), 6-4 comeback against Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya. She will face Anastasia Potapova in the second round on Tuesday.

Following the former World No. 1’s win in Doha, her husband, Michal Hrdlicka, blasted the “extremely challenging conditions.” He also shared the details of her taxing intercontinental travel.

"She caught the flight from Cluj via Istanbul to Doha at the last minute. If the final in Romania had been played just a little longer, she would not have reached Qatar at all," Karolina Pliskova’s husband wrote on X.

"This is how she arrived at the hotel at 8 in the morning, slept for 4 hours, had a quick lunch, 14:30 play-off and a match. Extremely challenging conditions," he added.

Pliskova, meanwhile, made a sarcastic remark about her situation.

"Still alive," she wrote on Instagram, adding a laughing emoji.

Karolina Pliskova on Instagram

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Similar to Karolina Pliskova's husband, Daria Kasatkina slams WTA for Qatar Open 2024 schedule: "Are you guys trying to make players die or get injured often?"

Daria Kasatkina pictured at the 2024 Abu Dhabi Open

Karolina Pliskova wasn’t the only player who bore the brunt of the congested WTA scheduling. Abu Dhabi Open [February 5-11] finalist Daria Kasatkina, and semifinalists Beatriz Haddad Maia and Liudmila Samsonova, who dealt with similar circumstances, lost their opening matches at the Qatar Open.

Before her journey to Doha, Kasatkina lashed out at the WTA’s alleged inconsideration of the players.

"It's terrible scheduling, honestly. I don't know how you can schedule the finals of the tournament on Sunday, wanting to finish the next tournament on Saturday, so you start it on Sunday, and like this, the player, if like me, you don't have a bye in Doha, I have to play on Monday," she said, via France 24.

Kasatkina was defeated by her compatriot Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-2, 7-6(2) in the first round of the Qatar Open on Monday.

"We don't have yet this technology that I can just do like this (snaps her fingers) and be in Doha in five seconds. I have a question, I don't know to who, to WTA or the tournaments, like, are you guys trying to make players die, or to get injured often?" Daria Kasatkina added.